Court officers have blood on their hands

Editor:

I am enraged after reading your recent article regarding a man being released from jail for a stint in rehab after running over his wife. My 84-year-old mentally incapacitated aunt was a victim. He was originally charged with 39 felonies in my aunt's case. I begged the Kanawha County prosecutor and Judge Kaufman to punish him with jail time. But the charges were reduced to misdemeanors and he was put on probation because "he has no priors, is bipolar and addicted to drugs."

I find it amazing that a criminal who has a wealthy Charleston attorney for a father can commit two heinous crimes within six months and the judicial system comes to his rescue. Does this criminal have to kill someone before he is considered dangerous? If this were anyone else, would they be sitting in rehab or would they be in jail?

Shame on Judge Kaufman. He has a responsibility to protect citizens against criminals. Mr. Carrico's minimizing the crimes against my aunt speaks volumes about his character and solidifies opinions about his profession. Prosecutor Mark Plants should do his job. The blood of this victim is on all of their hands.

Jenny Graves

Richmond, Va.

There is no way to make coal 'clean'

Editor:

As the slow, inevitable death of the coal industry in Appalachia progresses, we often hear the term "clean coal" used. Coal industry leaders, their lobbyists and the political leaders who have been bought by the coal industry would have us all believe the lie that there is, or ever could be, such a thing as "clean coal" technology.

Typically these groups like to cite carbon sequestration or the possibility of using coal as fuel stock for "cracker" plants where it wouldn't be burned at all, as steps leading to the "clean" use of coal.

There is no clean way to extract coal from the earth. Mining coal is filthy, dangerous work that destroys the health of those who do it. Dust and gases and various carcinogens that are exhausted from the process are spread into the air and onto every surface and into every stream within miles of mining operations. All who work and live in mining communities know firsthand of the dust and noise, and the high rate of disease and death.

Big Coal and those who do their bidding also know how dirty coal is; however, they choose to ignore this fact and hope that we all will as well. They hope the generations of families who have sacrificed their health and, sadly, their lives, will also ignore the filth so long as they have a job.

Their divisive tactics of blaming the government for a fictitious "war on coal" while ignoring safety regulations and striving to block new safety measures show just how little they think of the hardworking people who make them rich. There is no "clean coal."

Walt Lindsay

Madison

Retiree pensions are not being protected

Editor:

Corporations are being permitted to discard the legal rights of America's retirees and ignore federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act laws meant to protect our pensions. This is creating a dangerous and potentially devastating trend.

This summer, General Motors disposed of $26 billion of its retirees' pensions by purchasing insurance company annuities or offering others buyouts. Then in late October, Verizon announced it is forcing 41,000 of its management retirees into Prudential insurance annuities, with no choice or voice in the decision.

What this means is that these retirees will lose both federal pension law protections and the safety net that the federal government's Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. provides. Corporate pensions are protected by the PBGC, but annuity policies are not, so if an annuity issuer goes bankrupt or suffers an asset shortfall, retirees are up a creek without a paddle.

Are we all forgetting the financial meltdown of 2008, when many too-big-to-fail insurers and financial firms sought out the federal government as their financial safety net? Who in Washington is looking out for America's retirees?

Our nation's leaders need to wake up and stop corporations from pulling these pension bait-and-switches on older Americans.

Judy Lundy

South Charleston

Servicemen perform heroism at home too

Editor:

A special thanks to Staff Sgt. Ian Wramp, of Sissonville, who stopped and helped my wife and me moments after we collided with a deer on Interstate 79.

In a time when we often think of our service members overseas, it is important to recognize their heroism at home. Sgt. Wramp's poise, bravery and warmth guided us through a traumatic experience and helped us to safety. His actions exemplify our armed forces at their best.

Good luck to Sgt. Wramp as he embarks on his fifth deployment this winter. And our best to his wife and children.

When parting, Sgt. Wramp said that he is "just here to serve," and we are forever grateful for his service.

Michael T. Miller and Kelly Pack

Washington, D.C.